NMSFNO, FSH Variant, Basic 9 Fire Prep Test

I have just taken the FSH to the sander and thinned down the shoulders on the edge ....then onto the sharpmaker for a few passes to remove the wire overlap and had half an hour on my BRKT stropping paddle ... and we're getting there :thumbup:

The re-curve at the rear part of the blade is a little tricky ... but it is starting to feel like the NMSFNO does on sharpness .... that blade came away from the test as sharp as it was going into it .... the FSH had dulled a bit ... but once the edge profile improves ... so will the longevity of the edge ...:thumbup:

Tricky things though recurves :D
 
Pete, Thanks for the testing and taking the time to document it so well for us. And for the nice pics of such Busse-licious knives. :)

Re: firestarting in the wet, something we have here in the rainy NW USA as well.

One of the highest "bang for the buck" pieces of kit I've found, in terms of space efficiency, is Firestraws. For an item that weighs almost nothing and takes almost no space, they provide a surprisingly long-lived flame, serving as the tinder and first layer of kindling.

Firestraws are just short sections of plastic drinking straws (fat ones from fast food joints can work well) stuffed with cotton ball material soaked with petrolium jelly (vaseline) which can be messy to handle, paraffin wax, or preferably beeswax. There are some comments on how much longer beeswax burns than paraffin wax in this thread here.

If you do use petroleum jelly (PJ), you can squish it into the cotton balls (CB) by dropping the CB's into a ziplock bag, adding a dollop or two of PJ, zipping the bag shut, and kneading the contents together with the mess safely and conveniently confined to the inside of the bag. If you have more PJCB material than you need for a single firestraw stuffing session, you can simply store the unneeded PJCB material zipped up in the bag.

To make the firestraws, you pinch one end of a roughly 2" or so long section of plastic straw closed with a pair of pliers (I like needlenose pliers) leaving a little of the plastic straw material exposed by the plier jaws. Then you melt the exposed plastic with a flame, sealing that end of the straw closed.

Next stuff in and pack your cotton soaked with vaseline or wax, filling half or more of the straw section, followed by enough dry (unsoaked) cotton ball material packed in to finish filling the straw section. To stuff in and pack tight the sometimes reluctant cotton material, you can use things like a Q-tip stick, ballpoint pen filler tube, the blunt end of a bamboo skewer as used for teriyaki, etc.

Then pinch & seal the open end of the straw section with a flame like you did the original end. Be sure that you have a waterproof seal, since if your firestraw leaks you may have trouble getting a spark to catch.

To use the firestraw, split the section of straw open (slitting the side open works for me) and fluff out some of the uncoated cotton. Strike a spark into the fluffed cotton and bring it to a flame, which will melt some of the wax that then soaks into the cotton. You now effectively have a candle with the cotton fibers acting as mini-wicks. Eventually the plastic straw material will ignite and burn as well.

To add some more tenacity of flame endurance, you could insert a small strip or sliver of inner tube rubber into the straw section along with the coated and uncoated cotton. Once burning, rubber is very difficult to extinguish, even to the point of burning while soaking wet on occasion. Witness the tough time firemen have fighting junkyard tire fires.

Pictorial DIY on making firestraws

Linked below are some threads on firestraws. And there is much more info in the Wilderness Survival forum here on BFC.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=519594
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=496190
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=377137
 
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nice review. Thanks for taking the time to post.

I am sure you have already done this, but if you have tinder that just won't light, one thing you can do is make a decent pile of shavings from the fire stick (or if you have a magnesium/striker combo you can shave the magnesium).

Once that gets going, you will get more heat.

My favorite pre-prepaired tinder is cotton balls and petroleum. Burns hot and long enough to start the other stuff. Tampons work great also, and come in their own handy waterproof packages. Nice and dense stuff, burns great. You can also pack it in serious wounds to stop bleeding.
 
Thanks for those tips guys .... the fire straws appeals as I feel I will get my own back for all the "take away litter" that gets thrown out of cars passing my property which I have to pick up ..... I will soon become the "phantom straw thief" ... lol...:D

Tampon's and sanitary towels have since the Falklands been part of my personal medic kit ... kept in a pouch on my webbing .... you can plug an entry wound with the tampon and the exit wound with the towel ... and as you say the plastic wrapper keeps them sterile .... used together with a roll of cling film you can wrap a limb or a chest wound for a very tight seal .... good enough on chest wounds to stop a lung from collapsing .... they work much better than old style field dressings .... used with wound powder for cleansing and you stand a much better chance surviving a hit ....

For none survival firelighting we usually just dig a quick hole for a wind break and use the issued hexamine tablets in the old style ration packs .... a quick squirt with a few drops of gun oil from the cleaning kit and it instantly "lights" .... for us the key is to use stuff easily re-supplied and which costs you nothing ....;)

We usually just spend our own money on our personal medic kit .... well worth it ....but starting fires is easy from issued stuff .... until you're on a survival course ... lol ... then the stuff issued to "survive" with .... does'nt work ....:D:D

The first rule of any military survival "edged tools" .... such as the mini -hatchet or clasp knife (in the air transport kits) ... is that sharp edges are "dangerous" and not allowed ...:mad::D I have had many a good laugh watching air crew try to make "fuzz sticks" with those ... and the sharpening stones are "always" missing ....
 
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